Niagara

I have this recurring memory of my trip to Niagara Falls in 2002.

My dad is driving. My mom is shotgun. I'm sitting in the back seat, laying down (we drove from NJ). I took several books, ambitious of me. The Children of Hurin. Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth. My brother is in the middle.

I remember this day vividly, like it happened just last year.

Here's the thing though. I can't tell you when it happened. Was it in 2002? Or 2003? Was it in the spring or the summer?

Here are some of the things I do remember: I had my books, we had no cell phones. My dad has a paper map in the glove compartment. My parents are around the age I am now, writing this. He's maybe 40, my mom certainly 36 in that case.

These two people who had long ago stopped loving each other (cared for each other, sure), taking a long trip (10 hours?) to some random destination.

There's a lot I don't remember anymore.

What kind of car was it? It certainly had to be big, it was 3 rows after all.